Quote Sheet: U.S. Men's National Team Defeats Egypt 3-0

NewsJun 21, 2009

U.S. Head Coach BOB BRADLEYOn the match: “Without a doubt, we were focused on all three games knowing it was a tough group. We knew that in the last game that we needed to get after it in a way that would give us a chance. We started the game with a lot of energy. Getting the first goal becomes important. At halftime, we felt that if we were smart and we continued to press in a good way that there would be chances and that we would get two more goals. In that regard, credit to the players for the push they made throughout the game. We’re excited to move on.”

U.S. Midfielder and ussoccer.com Man of the Match CLINT DEMPSEYOn the match: “We knew it was going to be a tough game. The odds were against us and the chances of us going through were slim. All we could control was ourselves. Credit to all the guys and the coaching staff. We worked hard this whole tournament so far and believed in ourselves. Now it’s time to refocus and get ready for Spain.”

On his goal and the USA's progression to the next round:“(Jonathan) Spector hit a great ball in and I happened to be on the right side of the defender. I used my body to get a little bit of space and tried to get my head on it. I put it towards goal, kept it low and it found the back of the net. I didn't know that was going to be the goal to get us through because I didn't know what the score of the other game was, but after the game I saw the reaction of the guys and we knew we went through. It's a great feeling and we're looking forward to the next round.”

On playing a game where you have to score:“You try to get yourself in good spots, try to get in front of the goal and try to make things happen. It's the mentality that you have to have.”

On his feeling at the conclusion of the game:“I was just happy that we won 3-0. I was tired at the same time, and it wasn't until I saw everybody else celebrating that I knew we advanced. It's a weight off of our shoulders. Everybody else was against us, but we believed it ourselves. No one thought that we could go to the next round, but we showed what you can accomplish by fighting hard and sticking together.”

U.S Midfielder and Captain LANDON DONOVANOn advancing to the semifinals: “The first thing that was required was belief. After the Italy-Egypt game we realized there was some chance, however unlikely, and tonight we just said ‘let's go for it.’ We had a good start and played well, and when we heard the Brazil score we knew we had a chance if we could get the next two goals. The next thing you know we're through.”

On scoring the first goal:“That was our objective, to get the first goal and see where that put us. Charlie (Davies) did a great job and made a great play to score the goal. From that point we tried to get the second and we had a few chances. At halftime they told us it was 3-0 Brazil, so we wanted to be smart. We knew Egypt was going to try to sit back, since they were through at that time. We wanted to push forward and get the second because we thought if we got the second we would get the third and we did.”

On whether they were keeping up with the Brazil-Italy score during the game:“I kept looking over [to the bench] at 3-0 to make sure the Brazil-Italy score was still the same. It would have thrown everything off if Italy had scored. My initial reaction was don't get too excited, because we don't know what happened. But I looked over at the bench and everybody was jumping up and down so I knew we could celebrate.”

On advancing: “This experience reminds you that these are three game tournaments in the group phase. As poorly as we played against Brazil and as upset as we were about losing to Italy, you always have a chance to keep going.”

On what the players did differently in the days leading up to the Egypt game:“Nothing different. We had nothing to lose tonight, and everything to gain. Granted we played against two of the best teams in the world, but we thought we could have done a little better had things gone differently. Tonight we wanted to give it our best effort, and it turned out well for us.”

U.S. Midfielder MICHAEL BRADLEYOn advancing to the semifinals: “I'm so proud. At the beginning of the night we knew that we needed to win, we needed goals, and we needed Brazil to win. Everybody stepped on the field committed to taking it one play at a time, one goal at a time and just leave everything on the field. To be able to be in a team that was so committed and so passionate for 90 minutes was a great feeling.”

On how the team stayed focused going into the third game knowing the odds:“You come to these tournaments and the games come quick. You take each game one at a time. Everybody always says how important it is to get off to a good start. In our case we didn't get off to the best start. In the second game we weren't really able to take anything from that either. After that, it's just trying to stay in it and grind away even when people are quick to write you off, and just being able to stay mentally in it, to keep fighting and keep grinding with the idea that the people who stay committed to the cause get rewarded. Tonight we had 11 guys on the field and our subs that came on and everybody on the bench all committed to doing something special.”

On whether they were keeping up with the Brazil-Italy score during the game:“As we got the second and third goal we knew the score of the other game. At that point you're trying to keep the 3-0 lead in our game, but at the same time you know if Italy get a goal in the other game you may have to turn it on again and try to get another one for us. It's a delicate thing. You want to be concentrated on your own game but at the same time you need to know the other score. The main thing was just being committed and focused on what we needed to do.”

U.S. Forward JOZY ALTIDOREOn the match: “Overall, we were very tenacious from the opening whistle. We put the game on our terms and put them under pressure. It was a game where we had to fight, and we were fighters today. We came here to try and win and advance out of the group, and we have accomplished that. Now we have to bring the same approach to the game against Spain.”

On how they stayed focused knowing that advancing was a long shot:“We never took our foot off the gas pedal. We knew it was going to be tough, but we felt we could beat this team. We just had to be sure that we came out to play.”

U.S. Defender JAY DEMERITOn his reaction at the final whistle:“I think it’s a little bit of disbelief. Nobody thought we’d be in this position when the game started, but we certainly earned it.”

On whether they were following the score in the Brazil-Italy game:“Coming in at half, we knew that two more goals would give us a chance. Throughout the game, there was an update or two from the bench. There was enough communication to know where we were, and what we need to do.”

On the mentality going into the game: “First, you just give yourself a chance. At the back, we wanted to keep it scoreless, and we wanted to come out and get an early goal, which we did. At half time, we talked about trying to get the second goal quickly, and then you have all the chance in the world to get the third. Thankfully we did that tonight.”

On the play of the defense:“At halftime they changed their tactics to sit back and try to absorb our pressure. They didn’t have a ton going forward, especially in the second half. They didn’t test us too much, but when they did we had to be on our toes. We did our job, and the guys up front did theirs. It was a total team effort.”

U.S. Forward CHARLIE DAVIESOn his reaction at the final whistle:“Pure excitement. It basically felt like we did the impossible tonight. It was great to achieve our goal of getting out of the group when no one really gave us a chance.”

Describing his goal:“There was a loose ball and the ‘keeper ran into his own player, so I was able to get around the ball and shield it. I took a quick touch and was able to shoot it. It deflected off a player. It was a good feeling to start off the goal scoring for us.”

On the mentality going in:“We came into the game with the attitude of getting the win. We wanted to score the goals we needed to give ourselves a chance, and hopefully get some help from Brazil, which we did. Our mentality was great tonight, and I think that’s what helped up us get the big win.”

U.S. Defender JONATHAN BORNSTEINOn his reaction at the final whistle:“I was in awe. We went into the game knowing that we needed a six-goal swing. When we found out the results, it was pure excitement. We’re very happy to be going into the next round.”

On how the team responded after the first two games:“We never doubted ourselves. Obviously the first two games were pretty tough games, especially with the red cards. We had the mentality going in of getting an early goal and then trying to get the next two in the process. That’s exactly how it happened.”

On the mentality going into the game:“I think we have a lot of resilient guys on this team, guys how don’t put their heads down after two hard losses. It’s like that quote from Dumb and Dumber: ‘So you’re telling me there is a chance.’ That’s what we kept saying. We went in with that mentality. We made it, and that’s all that matters.”